Germany’s Best Alcohol-Free Pale Lager: Weltenburger Monastery awarded at the European Beer Star 2024!
Mid-September, Nuremberg Exhibition Center: Around 150 international beer experts gather for a two-day blind tasting to sample and evaluate a total of 2,360 beers. The judging is objective and based purely on sensory criteria: appearance, scent and taste, as well as the typical characteristics of each beer style, determine who takes home gold, silver, and bronze at the European Beer Star.
Another milestone in the nearly 1,000-year history of the Weltenburger Monastery Brewery: At this year’s edition of the prestigious beer competition, Weltenburger Kloster Alkoholfrei Hell was awarded bronze. This award is among the most important honors in the international brewing world and highlights the outstanding quality of Weltenburger beers.
The fact that our Alkoholfrei Hell ranks among the best beers in the world shows that our combination of tradition and innovation is the right path forward!
At the official award ceremony of the European Beer Star 2024 on November 27, held during the BrauBeviale trade fair in Nuremberg, the brewery’s Technical Director, Darko Zimmer, accepted the desired award: “The fact that our Weltenburger Kloster Alkoholfrei Hell was able to prevail in the steadily growing and demanding segment of alcohol-free beers against an ever-increasing number of competitors at the European Beer Star makes my team and me very proud! To have an independent jury of international beer experts confirm that our Alkoholfrei Hell ranks among the best beers in the world shows that our combination of tradition and innovation is truly the right path forward!”
As part of the European Beer Star expert tasting, submitted beers were tasted and evaluated in a total of 75 categories — including traditional German beer styles such as Pils, Lager, and Pale Wheat Beer, as well as lesser-known styles like Grodziskie, Geuze and barrel-aged specialty beers.
“Since the inception of the European Beer Star in 2004, beer styles of European origin have been at the heart of our competition. However, breweries from all over the world are welcome to participate, whether they are large international producers or small brewpubs around the corner. With entries from more than 50 countries, the European Beer Star is also one of the most international beer competitions. Winning a European Beer Star demonstrates that a brewery ranks among the world’s best in terms of beer quality,” emphasizes Stefan Stang, Managing Director of the organizing association, Private Breweries.
The Weltenburger Monastery Brewery, the oldest monastery brewery in the world, sets new standards once again with this award — proving that alcohol-free beers can also meet the highest demands.
